Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Loyola Intercollegiate
Marshall’s Ryan Bilby Leads After Day One At Loyola Intercollegiate
2/16/2025 5:23:00 PM | Men's Golf
Herd senior cards 10 birdies, leads field by four strokes heading into Day Two
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Marshall senior Ryan Bilby had one heck of a start to his 2025 spring schedule on Sunday.
Bilby fired one of the greatest rounds in Marshall program history – a 9-under 63 – to lead the 2025 Loyola Intercollegiate by four strokes after Day One of the competition at Palm Valley Golf Club.
"It was a lot of fun," Bilby said. "It was the first round of the spring, so there wasn't a lot of expectations, so I just got out there and played free and the ball started going in the hole."
Bilby's 9-under is tied for the second-lowest score to par in Marshall history and his 63 is the third-lowest score in program history.
On the day, Bilby carded 10 birdies and had just one bogey.
Bilby got the day off to a strong start as he birdied Holes No. 13 and 14 – his first two of the day.
After consecutive pars following the opening two birdies, Bilby notched four consecutive birdies on Nos. 17, 18, 1 and 2 to continue his assault on Palm Valley's course. He later added birdies at Nos. 5, 7, 9 and 10 to build on his lead and solidify one of the greatest single rounds in Herd golf history.
Ironically, one of those other historic rounds also came in the team's opening round of a season – that coming in Fall 2024 when teammate Clayton Thomas shot a 9-under 62 in the opening round of the 2024 Joe Feaganes Invitational. The Herd's top overall round-to-par in program history came in 2022 when Tyler Jones shot a 10-under 62 at the Golfweek/AGT Invitational.
Marshall teammate Andrew Wyss joined Bilby in red figures at 1-under for the day following a strong resurgence late in his round. Wyss bogeyed three of his first four holes, but settled in beautifully to finish well. Over his final 11 holes, Wyss had five birdies, including his last hole – the par-5 14th – to move under par and into a tie for 21st place.
Those first round performances have the Herd in fourth place out of 19 teams.
"It was a good first round of the spring for us," Marshall Men's Golf coach Matt Grobe said. "Ryan played great and shot an incredible 63 and Andrew got off to a slow start, but heated up quickly to finish under-par. The rest of the guys played solid, too. It was nice to knock some of the rust off. I am excited to watch the guys the next two days."
Action in the 2025 Loyola Intercollegiate resumes at 9:45 a.m. on Monday morning with second round action. To follow along with Live Scoring, click HERE.
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